معرفی
Laura Stevenson has been a faculty member at Marlboro College since 1986, bringing her expertise in literature and writing to students for over three decades. A trained historian with deep literary knowledge, she previously taught humanities at UC Santa Barbara before joining Marlboro. Her academic journey includes a B.A. from the University of Michigan (1968), M.Phil. from Yale University (1971), and Ph.D. from Yale University (1974).
Stevenson's research interests span Elizabethan Popular Literature, children's literature, historical fiction, and Vermont literary culture. Her scholarly work Praise and Paradox: Merchants and Craftsmen in Elizabethan Popular Literature (1984) established her early academic credentials, while her subsequent publications demonstrate her ability to bridge academic scholarship with creative writing. An NEH Research Fellowship in 1996-97 supported her critical studies of late 19th-century children's literature.
Her extensive body of work reveals evolving themes from historical scholarship to contemporary Vermont literary culture. The progression from academic monographs to children's literature (beginning in the 1980s after escalating deafness ended her musical pursuits) to adult fiction and finally to systematic book reviewing shows remarkable intellectual versatility. Recent reviewing activity demonstrates deep engagement with Vermont authors and contemporary literary trends across multiple genres.
- NEH Research Fellowship (1996-97)
- Dorothy Canfield Fisher List Top Ten (1990-91)
- Multiple award shortlists including William Allen White Award and Mark Twain Award
- 2022 IPNE Award Finalist in Genre Fiction
- 2022 Foreword INDIES finalist in Mystery
- 2023 Global Book Award Finalist in Historical Fiction
Stevenson's teaching philosophy emphasizes both sentence-level writing skills and broader analytical abilities developed through critical reading. She believes 'good writing is so closely attached to personal perceptions and thinking styles' that while teachers can prevent bad writing, they cannot directly teach good writing—only provide 'encouragement and support... while students find their own way.' Since 2015, she has maintained a bi-weekly book review column 'One Minute Reviews' in the Deerfield Valley News, with a special focus since April 2018 on reviewing all commercially published fiction and non-fiction by Vermont authors—a service no other Vermont periodical consistently provided.
Her literary work extends beyond publication to community engagement, with books available through Wilmington's Pettee Memorial Library, the Whitingham Free Public Library, and locally-owned Bartleby's Books. Stevenson's career demonstrates sustained commitment to both academic excellence and literary community building in Vermont.
